Pedestals for tables or chairs



Dec. 8, 1959 J. BISCHQF 2,916,241

PEDESTALS FOR TABLES 0R CHAIRS Original Filed March 23, 1955 In we]? ZorUnited States Patent Office 2,916,241 Patented Dec. 8, 1959 PEDESTALSFOR TABLES OR CHAIRS Joseph Bischof, Evanston, Ill.

Continuation of abandoned application Serial No. 496,139, March 23,1955. This application October 3, 1958, Serial No. 765,719

2 Claims. (Cl. 248-188) This application is a continuation ofapplication S.N. 496,139, filed on March abandoned.

This invention relates to improvements in pedestals for tables orchairs, in which the pedestal is supported on three or more downwardlyand outwardly curved legs, such as is widely used in certain types ofso-called period furniture.

As at present constructed, pedestals of the character above describedusually have the legs secured thereto by means of dowel pins and withthe meeting faces of the legs glued to the adjacent circular face of thepedestal. This type of construction is especially subject to failurebecause the outwardly and downwardly curved legs have a spreading actionwhen in use, tending to break the legs away from the pedestal. The jointbetween the pedestal and each leg is subject to two forces tending toseparate connection between the pedestal and leg. First of all, verticalshear forces act on the connecting means between the pedestal and legsdue to the weight of the pedestal itself as well as the weight of anysuperimposed object. The joint is also subject to a separating forcewhich can be considered as a turning moment acting in a tangentialdirection with respect to a circle described about the upper edge of theleg adjacent the pedestal as a center. The downwardly acting forces onthe pedestal tend to force the upper portions of the legs downwardly,thus producing the turning moment and the spreading tendency of thelegs. In conventional types of constructions using dowel pins or screwsbetween the legs and the pedestal, the shear forces may be adequatelytaken care of but the tangential force tends to cause a breaking away ofthe leg, and/or the pedestal base, at that region of the leg and/orpedestal base positioned beneath the lowest dowel pin, screw or otherconnecting member employed in the joint. As a result, pedestals of thetype mentioned usually require considerably more repair work than othercomparable types of furniture construction.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a simple andinexpensive reinforcing construction for pedestals of the characterabove described which gives adequate strength for withstanding thespreading action of the legs.

A further object is to provide a reinforcing construction which can bereadily applied to conventional pedestals in a furnitude repair shop, soas to avoid further failure of pedestals of this type.

The invention may best be understood by the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a side view of a three-legged pedestal constructed inaccordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged bottom view of the pedestal, with the endportions of the legs broken away.

Figure 3 is a detailed section on line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the reinforcing ring used in carryingout my invention.

Referring now to the details of the embodiment of the invention shown inthe drawings, indicates the my copending 23, 1955, now

bottom end of a pedestal for a table or stool. The pedestal has acylindrical bottom end or base 11 to which a plurality of similardownwardly and outwardly curved legs 12, 12 are attached. In the formshown, three such legs are employed. Each leg is thicker at its point ofjuncture with the pedestal base and tapers toward its lower outer end.The upper end of each leg has an upright inner face 13 which is arcuatein horizontal section so as to fit against the adjacent cylindricalsurface of the pedestal base. Dowel pins 14, 14, herein two in number,are fitted in apertures 15, 15 spaced along the arcuate face 13, thelowermost dowel pin being preferably dis sembled position. The dowelpins so employed are especially adapted to resist the vertical shearforces imposed between the joint on the pedestal and the legs.

The bottom face of the pedestal base 10 is formed, preferably in theturning operation, with a concentric recess 17 having upwardly andinwardly inclined side walls 18 generally in the form of a truncatedcone. A reinforcing ring 19, preferably of metal, also shaped in theform of a truncated cone, is inserted in said recess so that its outerface fits snugly against the inner walls 18. In the preferred formshown, the lower edge of the reinforcing ring terminates substantiallyflush with the bottom edge of said recess, so that the ring is hiddenwithin the base when the pedestal is in normal upright position.

A plurality of screws 19, one for each leg, is passed through preformedbores or apertures in the reinforcing ring from the underside of thepedestal base. Each of said screws is inclined upwardly and outwardly soas to penetrate its adjacent leg 12 substantially at the thickest partof the latter, so that the screw can be of maximum length withoutweakening the leg. Each screw passes into its associated leg at a levelabove the junction of the inclined lower surface of the leg and thevertical, pedestal abutting surface of the leg.

It should be noted that the particular tapered shape of the recess andring provides a relatively narrow thickness of wood at the lower edge ofthe base with a progressively upwardly increasing thickness to the upperedge of the recess and ring. This greater thickness at the upper edge ofthe recess is important inasmuch as the spreading tendency of the legsis transmitted through the screws and ring to that part of the pedestalbase beneath the upper edge of the recess. Thus the force imposed on thelower portion of the pedestal base by the spread ing tendency of thelegs tends to work on the lower portion of the pedestal base as acantilever. The greater thickness of the pedestal at the level adjacentthe upper portion of the recess thus provides a strengthening of thebase at the point where it is needed most.

The reinforcing ring not only acts as a reinforcement for the legs butalso acts as a reinforcement for the lower portion of the pedestal base.When all of the screws 19 have been inserted into position, the legs,ring and pedestal base are unitarily joined together. Any spreadingforce acting on one or more legs will induce a pulling force on the ringadjacent that leg or legs and as a con sequence will transmit force tothe other screws and legs. Thus any spreading tendency in one leg iseffectively opposed by the unitary structure of the pedestal base, ring,screws and other legs. The use of the ring with the pedestal base ineffect provides strength of the base generally equivalent to a thicknessof wood on the pedestal base on the order of two or three times thesingle thickness of the base adjacent the upper edge of the recess.

It will be observed fromFigure 3 that the inner face ofthe ring 19 isinclined atsuch an angle that-the heads of the screws are in position tobe reached by a screw driver held in axial alignment therewith forengagement with the slot 21 in the heads 20 of said screws. In otherwords, the projected axis of each screw passes below the lower rim ofthe ring at the opposite side of the pedestal base. Moreover, the screwsare disposed substantially tangential to the normal direction ofspreading action on the legs.

All of the legs 12, 12 are provided with similar screws passing throughthe reinforcing ring 19 and with the slotted heads 20, 20 of the screwsengaging the inner face of said ring when the parts are fully assembled.With thisconstruction the reinforcing ring forms a rigid connectionbetween all of the screws, with the legs connected'to the base in such amanner that the ring eliminates danger of splitting the side walls ofthe pedestal base surrounding the bottom recess 17.

In practice, the legs may be assembled on the pedestal base in anysuitable succession of operations. For instance, it may usually be foundpreferable to insert the dowel pins 14, 14 initially in the legs, withsaid pins glued in their apertures 15, 15. Each leg may then be mountedon the side of the pedestal base by inserting the dowel pins in thecorresponding apertures 16, 16 in the base. The parts may be gluedtogether in this position, if desired, by glue applied'both to the dowelpins and the arcuate meeting faces of the leg and base. The reinforcingring 19 may then be inserted in the bottom recess 17 and the screws thenscrewed home in their final position as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Although I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention,it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the exactconstruction shown and described but that various changes andmodifications .4 may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a pedestal support, a generally upright pedestal having a base ofcylindrical form and a plurality of legs radiating therefrom, the innerends of said legs having an upright surface in abutting contact withsaid cylindrical base, said legs having a lower surface extending in adownwardly inclinedvdirection from said upright surfaces, a plurality ofdowel pins having opposite ends thereof projecting respectively intosaid-pedestal base and the abutting inner surface of each of said legs,said dowel pins extending generally horizontally and radially-withrespect with the axis of said pedestal base, said base having a circularrecess on the under surface thereof providing a progressively upwardlyincreasing thickness at the lower end of the base, a reinforcing ringpositioned substantially completely withinsaid recess and having itsouter face fitting against the side walls of said recess, a screw foreach leg extending through said ring and the adjacent wall of said base,each screw extending into one of said legs, the axis of each said screwbeing upwardly inclined with respect to the axis of said dowel pins, andpassing above the junction of said upright surface and said lowersurface of the leg associated with the screw, said ring and said recessbeing in the shape of a truncated cone.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the axis of each of said screwspasses below the lower rim of the ring at the opposite side of said baseto permit engagement of the heads of the screws by a screw driver.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS140,895 Dawson July 15, 1873 602,489 Trapp Apr. 19, 1898 1,417,816 FooteMay 30, 1922- l,890,456 Cushman Dec. 13, 1932

